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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1522.PDF
29 May 1959 r -".'.•' ' HARDWARE AT HATFIELD IT was in August 1957 that the Minister of Defence revealed that Britain wasengaged in the development of a long-range ballistic missile. Code-named Blue Streak, this weapon is unofficially reported to have a design range of some 2,500nautical miles. Prime contractor is de Havilland Propellers Ltd.; the airframe has been assigned to de Havilland Aircraft, and propulsion and guidance are respectivelybeing handled by Rolls-Royce and the Sperry Gyroscope Co. We are now able to publish some photographs of the aluminium-painted towers which have becomeprominent landmarks at the prime contractor's test site on the north side of the airfield at Hatfield, Herts. First such structure to be erected was that illustrated in photograph (1). Thisis a simple frame containing six hinged working platforms in which can be located a test specimen of airframe. The tower is apparently intended for basic mechanicaltests upon the type of structure adopted for Blue Streak, and the latter is clearly a stainless-steel monocoque with exceedingly thin walls. In the left foreground canbe seen part of the erector frame used to place the missile in the tower. In (2) can be seen a more sophisticated installation completed towards the endof 1957. It is evidently a flow test rig, and consists essentially of a pair of lattice towers connected at the top by a rail-mounted crane. In the nearer tower can beseen storage tanks for liquid oxygen (upper tank) and kerosine, the capacity of each presumably being the same as those of the integral tanks employed in the missile.A vehicle in the foreground carries a spherical liquid-oxygen tank and a nitrogen bottle. In the adjoining tower (3) is a complete Blue Streak airframe. This tower is nowclad with metal sheet on two sides, the third side having curtains and the fourth being open to accept the missile elevating frame, which is hoisted by twin cablespassing over pulleys near the top of the structure. Close by are twin egg-cup storage containers and a large reinforced concrete cell—which, to judge by the loud noisesand flames that occasionally issue from it, contains a complete turbopump fed from tankage on the roof. Photograph (4) depicts a further static tower which arose last autumn. For obviousreasons the Hatfield test site is not suited to full static test firings. It may be that this tower, while not intended to hold a captive Blue Streak with the engine running,may be capable of accommodating a wide range of mechanical tests, such as erection, handling, location on the pad (which probably incorporates weighing and thrust-measuring systems) and certain internal functional check-outs. Thus, this tower has no exact counterpart in the U.S.A. and its curious tubular structure may wellprove singularly efficient. To an engineer the bracing at the top may not be aesthetic- ally beautiful, but is doubtless essential in order to confer adequate stability to thetower. This factor is particularly important in view of the fact that the five working platforms must fit the body of the missile precisely, although the tower has to beopen on one side, yet must bear the great weight of the Blue Streak and its elevating frame during the erection cycle. A further complication is that the overall heightof the installation must not conflict with aircraft operations from the adjacent runway. Blue Streak engines (Flight, May 8) have already been test-fired at Westcott andRolls-Royce shonly expect to start static firing at Spadeadam in the Scottish border country. At this remote site it is likely that a complete missile will be staticallytested before being taken to Woomera—perhaps in a C-130 of the R.A.A.F.—where flight trials should begin before many months have passed. .. —
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